Section 1 girls lacrosse tournament primer

Class A

Favorite: North Rockland —The Red Raiders are 15-1, their only loss coming to Long Island's Bayport-Bluepoint.

Challenger: Mamaroneck — Not only has this team played much better of late after a weird slump, but it was one of only two teams from Section 1 to put up a legitimate battle against North Rockland, falling by three goals.

Phoebe Mullarkey of North Rockland controls the ball while being pressured by Alexis Meredith of Pearl River during a varsity girls lacrosse game at North Rockland High School April 6, 2018. North Rockland defeated Pearl River 16-2.(Photo: Seth Harrison/The Journal News)

Sleeper: Mahopac — The Indians were the other Section 1 team to challenge North Rockland before also losing by three goals. Three goals in girls lacrosse isn't a lot. Mahopac (11-5) stumbled in its last regular-season game with a five-goal loss to Yorktown. But, prior to that, it was hot.

Unlucky draw: New Rochelle — Beggars can't be choosers and New Rochelle, with only five wins, would fall into the beggar category. But by drawing Mamaroneck, the Huguenots' playoff stay should be brief. The Tigers soundly beat them earlier this season.

Upset alert: Scarsdale — At 3-13, this former elite team, marred in controversy after the dismissal of its coaches just weeks before the season began, is lucky to be in the playoffs. But many of its losses were close and it only fell to Mahopac by two early in the season. Mahopac has a chance to vie for the section title, but it can't look past a first-round team that really is better than its record.

Class B

Favorite: John Jay-Cross River— While not the No. 1 seed, the 13-3 Indians have played a tough local schedule that included a one-goal win over Class A No. 2 seed Mamaroneck.

Challenger: Yorktown — The No. 1 seed isn't a soft No. 1. Arguably playing the toughest schedule in Section 1, the Huskers' five losses include four to out-of-area powerhouses. As much as some of their Section 1 wins were by less-than comfortable scores, a section title wouldn't be a surprise.

Sleeper: Suffern — The Mounties are an unimpressive 6-10, but they've had multiple impressive moments. They fell to Class A No. 2 seed Mamaroneck by just two goals. They lost to Class B No. 1 Yorktown in overtime, lost by one goal to 12-win, Class D No. 1 Bronxville and beat a very good 11-4 Hen Hud squad.

Unlucky draw: Ossining — At 5-11, having lost four straight games and six out of seven, there might not be a good draw for the Pride. But having to face Fox Lane, which soundly beat it 15-4 last Friday, is particularly unlucky.

Upset alert: Ursuline — The Koalas finished the season being routed by Mamaroneck. They also lost by five to Carmel early in the season. But Ursuline and Carmel, seeded No. 9 and 8, respectively, are both 9-7 and their games versus similar competition have been comparable. Ursuline coach Joe Frederick is no stranger to playoffs, including his own playoff run to the boys state title when he was a Yorktown Husker. This should be a very close game. The Rams need to bring their 'A' game.

Class C

Favorite: Byram Hills — The Bobcats' schedule has raised questions. And, yes, it hasn't been as difficult as those of other No. 1 seeds. But at 14-2, Byram Hills has earned the top seed. And a one-goal loss to No. 2 Rye strengthened the assessment of the Bobcats.

Challengers: Brewster and Rye— No. 3 Rye's schedule was tougher than Byram Hills' schedule and upset Class D No. 1 seed Bronxville. Two of Rye's six losses were in overtime, one to Class B No. 1 Yorktown. No. 2 Brewster lost a close game to Class B No. 2 John Jay-Cross River, then beat JJ-CR during an impressive five-game winning streak to close the regular season.

Sleeper: Hen Hud — The 11-5 Sailors have won six straight games and soundly defeated No. 1 Byram Hills last month. One of their losses was by just a goal to Class B No. 1 Yorktown.

Unlucky draw: Sleepy Hollow — At 10-6, the Headless Horsemen might have expected to get through at least one round of the playoffs. But drawing Rye, which is also 10-6 but the No. 3 seed with a stronger regular-season schedule, means Sleepy Hollow's offseason will likely begin Thursday night.

Upset alert: Pelham— The 10-6 Pelicans lost to No. 1 Byram Hills by just two goals, then closed the regular season on a four-game winning streak. Hen Hud is one of the section's stronger teams, but it can't afford to sleep against Pelham.

Class D

Favorite: Bronxville — The Broncos are 12-4 and a very impressive 12-4, at that. Their only Section 1 blemish was a one-goal loss to Rye. That was a surprise. Their other losses were to strong out-of-area teams. Those kinds of teams find their way onto Bronxville's schedule by design — to get the Broncos ready, not only for the Section 1 playoffs, but regionals and states.

Challenger: Putnam Valley — The Tigers are one of Section 1's elite teams. Their regular-season schedule couldn't compare in difficulty to No. 1 Bronxville's. Yet, they fell by only a goal to Bronxville last month and defeated an impressive Brewster squad.

Sleeper: North Salem — The No. 6 Tigers are 10-6 and their losses include one-goal setbacks to No. 3 Putnam Valley and No. 4 Albertus Magnus. They also fell by only two to No. 2 Class B John Jay-Cross River.

Unlucky draw: Pawling — Pawling, 10-6 and seeded No. 8, romped in most of their wins. One notable exception was its 11-10 victory over its first-round opponent, No. 9 Westlake, which is 8-8.

Upset alert: Briarcliff — At 7-9, Briarcliff should be the underdog in its opening-round game to Dobbs Ferry. The Eagles are 10-6 and were much more consistent throughout the regular season. But Dobbs Ferry is coming off two straight losses and was the only winning team Briarcliff beat this season. And the Bears didn't just win but won big, 15-4.